1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a fastening mechanism for connecting together sport attachments and sports shafts and, more particularly, it relates to a fastening mechanism for releasably connecting sport attachments to sports shafts which is spring-loaded for providing easy connection and removability of the sports attachments from the sports shaft and easy interchangeability of various sports attachments on a single sports shaft.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In any sport that uses a sports stick of some kind as part of the game, there exists the possibility that the shaft of the sports stick will break or become worn so that a player desires to replace all or part of the sports stick. In hockey, as played both on ice and on other surfaces, it is common for the blade or other sport attachment of the sports stick to break before the shaft. In fact, due to the intense nature of the sport, hockey and lacrosse sticks are subject to a variety of stresses and shocks during play. These stresses and shocks often result in broken blades or heads which require replacement before they can be used.
Therefore, in addition to the well-known single piece sports stick, manufacturers have developed sports sticks having separate shafts and replacement blades. To eliminate the need to replace the entire sports stick, hockey and lacrosse stick assemblies have been designed so that only the damaged blade or head need be replaced. Using conventional methods, replacing the damaged blade or head has been time consuming, and requires auxiliary equipment.
A variety of mechanisms exist in the art that allow replacement of blades or heads, but all involve of these mechanisms require either heating one or more of the elements or unscrewing the damaged parts and screwing in replacements. One method for attaching a replacement blade to a separate hockey shaft is by way of remeltable glue placed on either the tenon of the replacement blade, or inside the shaft. One difficulty that this method presents is that a means for heating the glue is required for removing and replacing a blade. Therefore, the user must carry a heating apparatus to the play area in order to replace his or her blade.
A second method of replacement blade attachment is by way of a tapered setscrew embedded in the tenon of the replacement blade. The screw is accessed through a hole in the shaft and must be turned by a screwdriver. The drawback of this method is that a separate tool is required to remove and replace blades and the correct ancillary equipment must be on hand during play in order to effect the change.
A third method employs rubber barbs on the tenon that grip the inside of the shaft when the tenon is inserted. Unfortunately, with this method, there are no means for securely locking the blade to the shaft and the chances for inadvertent dislodgment of the blade from the shaft are greatly increased.
A fourth method is set forth in the Selden patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,306, discloses a spring mechanism for releasably locking a replacement hockey blade to a shaft. The Selden patent describes a U-shaped spring that fits over an intermediary shaft connected to the replacement blade and then to the shaft of the stick. While the invention of the Selden patent obviates the need for heating glue to release the blade from the shaft, it adds difficulty in manufacture by the addition of extra elements and connections, and does not adequately allow for fingertip access to the locking mechanism.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a fastening mechanism for connecting sport attachments to sports shafts to overcome not only the need for a heating element to soften a glue attachment means, but also the manufacturing and use difficulties presented by the Selden patent. Additionally, a need exists for a fastening mechanism for connecting sport attachments to sports shafts requires no glue or heat gun and no extra tools of any kind. Furthermore, there exists a need for a fastening mechanism for connecting sport attachments to sports shafts, and provides a means for positively releasably locking the sports attachment to the shaft as well as fingertip access to the fastening mechanism.
The present invention is a fastening mechanism for connecting a sports attachment to a shaft. The fastening mechanism comprises an aperture formed in the shaft. A fastening member is mounted to the sports attachment with at least a portion of the fastening member receivable within the aperture. A biasing mechanism biases at least a portion of the fastening member in the aperture wherein the fastening member is releasably maintained within the aperture thereby releasably connecting the sports attachment to the shaft.
The present invention additionally includes a device for releasably securing together a blade and a shaft of a sporting item with the blade having a tenon and the shaft having a hollow portion. The tenon of the blade is receivable within the hollow portion. The device comprises a spring-biased fastener mounted to the tenon and an aperture in the shaft, the aperture extending into the hollow portion and receiving at least a portion of the fastener.
The present invention further includes a method for constructing a sports stick. The sports stick has a sports attachment having a tenon and a shaft having a hollow portion with the tenon being receivable within the hollow portion. The method comprises forming an aperture through the shaft into the hollow portion, mounting a fastening member to the tenon of the sports attachment, inserting the tenon of the sports attachment into the hollow portion of the shaft, aligning the fastening member with the aperture in the shaft, and urging at least a portion of the fastening member into the aperture.